Thursday, December 18, 2008

Cherry-Streusel Coffee Cake

Sorry for my crummy photo...I usually take my photos outside in the backyard, but because of the horrible weather here in Los Angeles (yes, when it rains in LA it is all about "storm watch" - don't laugh) I was stuck inside with some bad photos! Look at Martha Stewart's book, Baking Handbook (page 55) for a beautiful photo of this yummy coffee cake!

The Seattle Times has the recipe here. And Katherine Heigl and Martha make it here on her website. Seattle's recipe has the scaled down version of the streusel (only 1 cup needed), while the website and book offer the 4 cup recipe and you will have lots extra.

I used frozen (thawed) Dark Sweet Cherries from Trader Joe's (I prefer Sweet over Sour when it comes to cherries). Half the batter is spread on the bottom - at first, I thought I wouldn't have enough batter, the layer was kinda thin.

The thawed and drained cherries are added to the center of the cake. Stay away from the edges.

The rest of the batter is added and then the cold streusel topping (1 cup).

It rose up very nicely and those worries about "not enough batter" were unfounded. When cooled, a quick glaze of powdered sugar and milk is drizzled on top.

Ha -- when it rains here in Alabama we are breathlessly advised by the talking heads on TV to retreat to our "safe place." It kills me! Even your "bad" pictures are better than any I'll ever take, that's for sure! This cake looks truly delicious -- it would be such a special additon to the breakfast table on Christmas morning!

This was WONDERFUL :) I happened to spot frozen cherries at Costco (had never seen them before) so I grabbed a bag and made a cake - for as long as the cake lasted (which was only 2 days, lol) I was hero mom - YAY!